They head for Crystal Palace this weekend lying 10th in the Premiership table, some six points adrift of the Champions League place they have set as their minimum target for the season and desperately needing three points.

There was a time when the Magpies simply could not win in the capital, going more than four years following a 2-1 victory over the Eagles at Selhurst Park in November 1997 before an unlikely 3-1 success at Arsenal on December 18, 2001.

Despite their recent run of results, confidence within the camp remains high, although there is a recognition that the slump cannot be allowed to continue - as Irish international defender Andy O’Brien admits.

“The manager’s a bubbly person and he can’t come in and criticise the players, I don’t think, because we are giving it our best,” he said. “The results are not going our way and results are all that matter.

“We’d rather be playing poorly and getting the right results, but that isn’t the case and we’ve just got to stick together and try to come through this period of games that we’re going through.”

The Newcastle defence have once again come under the spotlight after conceding 15 goals in the last seven games, and with chances going begging at the other end – despite only Arsenal having scored more league goals this season - that has proved costly.

Souness inherited a squad deprived of the services of Jonathan Woodgate following his sale to Real Madrid and with Titus Bramble injured.

Bramble has returned and Ronny Johnsen has been drafted in on a short-term contract, but Robbie Elliott and O’Brien have both been asked to play out of position at times, and with the games coming thick and fast – Newcastle head for France and a UEFA Cup showdown with Sochaux next Thursday night – their resources are being tested to the full.

“I feel a bit tired because of playing out of position and there is a lot more running – I appreciate how little running you have to do at centre-half,” said O’Brien, who has lined up at right-back in recent games but is a doubt for tomorrow with a hamstring problem.

“But I’ve always said, if you’re playing in a lot of games and the games are coming thick and fast, you’re doing something right.

“We’re still in Europe, we were in the League Cup, we’ve got the FA Cup and we’ve got the league that we’re fighting for and I’m fortunate to be in the internationals as well, so I’m not going to complain about the games.

“Things are just not going our way at the minute. We’re not playing badly – I don’t think we’ve played badly particularly this season.”